


Greenery

by siruru



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Denial of Feelings, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, F/M, Gardens & Gardening, Love Confessions, Mutant Reader, Plants, Reader-Insert, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-07
Updated: 2018-05-07
Packaged: 2019-05-03 13:32:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14570061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siruru/pseuds/siruru
Summary: Tony Stark had a great idea, involving a giant field and you. Too bad, James Buchanan Barnes -- war hero, world's most dangerous assassin, occasional goat farmer, decides he needs to help as well.





	Greenery

**Author's Note:**

> This is for @wehaveabucky writing challenge. Sort of takes places after Black Panther, but ignoring all of the IW stuff because I can. Started talking to my friend about Bucky’s particular scene in IW and I rolled with it. The Reader is enhanced and there are Karate Kid references. 
> 
> prompt: field/farm

Tony Stark was full of a lot of great ideas, though some were stranger than others but that didn't stop him -- from what you had seen nobody but Ms. Potts could stop him and that was only most of the time. However, this time his newest idea involved you coupled with the want to make the Avengers facility complete self-sufficient when it came to food, but instead of using all his time and energy on hiring people or scientists, he decided to use the newest recruit -i.e you- who could use plant-based powers in order to move this project forward.

So, here you are on a bright Saturday morning wearing overalls and high boots in field behind the compound, trying to figure how compost works. It would be the understatement of the year to declare that you knew anything about farming. You were a city girl through and through, it was just that your powers could make a beanstalk actually grow 10 feet tall. You were sitting on a bail of hay, because Stark had supplied you with everything, watching a video on mixing the best compost without trying to hurl your breakfast, completely unaware of a certain person making their way towards you.

"Is this all the progress ya've made so far?" the sound of a certain raspy voice makes you jump and look up to see a certain fellow teammate assessing your work -- Bucky Barnes was dressed in a dark shirt (that maybe clung a little too tight), an old pair of jeans, and dark plastic boots with a shovel at hand. He was scanning over the field that you divided with string and small wooden poles to show where everything was growing.

You got up and brushed the dirt from your pants before turning to look at him, "Yeah, I wanted to set up some good compost before anything else."  

He shakes his head like you're doing something wrong and you can't help but cross your hands and look at his direction, wondering why he is here and what he could be planning while trying to ignore how good he looked with the morning sun behind him.  

"Am I doing something wrong?" you question with the quick of an eyebrow as he turns to grin your way, like he knows everything when it comes to plants and gardening -- obviously unlike the woman that knew how to control them.

"It wouldn't hurt to have some extra help," he dodges your question before heading to the wheelbarrow full of dirt and the giant box full of seedlings and various seed packages. He looks at all of them with the same seriousness that he does his weapons before and after a mission, as you walk up to him.

"So, you're going to help?" you ask in slight disbelief since all the other Avengers had disappeared or had conveniently gone on a mission when this project come up after you had asked for help.

"I know a thing or two about this, doll. Like I said, wouldn't hurt to have an extra hand," he rummages through the box as you let out a snort of laughter.     

"Hauling stacks of hay during your free time doesn't count as farming, Barnes," you state, drawing back to the stories you had mainly heard from Sam of the former Winter Soldier's time in Wakanda.

"I raised goats," he turns and says it with a completely straight face.

"You raised goats?" you ask, trying your hardest to picture a long-haired Bucky with goats following him everywhere. It was just so hard to see the usually brooding man do something that you could consider _cute_ , but you had to admit you didn't know him very well to begin with. Since becoming a part of the re-established Avengers, you hadn’t gone on many missions with him and he mostly kept to talking with Steve, Sam, and on occasion Natasha. You usually stayed around Vision and Wanda.  

"In Wakanda," he clarifies, though you already understood that coming from his previous statement. You doubted he would be able to raise goats in 1940's Brooklyn without it being mentioned as some strange historical footnote of trivia question.

 _James Buchanan Barnes -- war hero, world's most dangerous assassin, occasional goat farmer_.

"In Wakanda?" you repeat his words in obvious disbelief.

"Yup," Bucky lets the p sound _pop_ roll out of his mouth, as he looks up at you and laughs at the sight of your bewildered face.

"I guess lead the way, _oh Great Goat Farmer_ ," you let out sarcastically before shrugging your shoulders in silent defeat and crouching down next to him.

* * *

It’s three and half hours of backbreaking labor to set up the compost ( _We should ask for goat manure, he stated like an expert as you cringe)_ and going between which seeds where getting planted and actually doing it. It was close to noon when you both had finished, looking proudly at the ground full of potential, though smelling of something foul and obviously ready for a shower.

“Ok, good work. I’ll see ya around,” you declare, while wiping away the sweat on your forehead obviously trying to ignore that fact that a certain super soldier wasn’t suffering like you were at the moment. You were about to head to direction of the compound and leave when his voice pulls you back.

“Hey, since we’re working on this together. No powers,” the sudden statement gives you whiplash as you turn around and look at a very serious Bucky, arms crossed and slightly glistening in the high afternoon sun -- no, don’t think about that right now.

“That kinda defeats the purpose Stark set up for me here,” you try to best to explain as he shakes his head, obviously already making up his mind since he was the only one actually helping with this task. It could have taken you at least a few minutes to grow all the vegetables and fruits beneath the garden floor and while it could help your training --like Tony wanted-- it wasn’t really helping with the second part of the project, and maybe that was Bucky’s point.

“We can find a different way to help you with that. But this,” Bucky motions at the field with a cheeky grin,”is going to be _all natural_.”

“Why?” you can’t help but ask, and he cannot help but rub the back of his head and let out sigh.

“Learning some survival skills wouldn’t hurt ya kid,” he reasons as his increased irritation lets his Brooklyn accent slips out for a moment, while blue-grey eyes staring into yours so that you try to understand his point, “ ‘aybe, even help ya with your powers.”     

"So, is this some _Karate Kid_ shit?" you laugh lightly at your own statement as a look of confusion briefly shows on Bucky’s face over the pop culture reference.  

"Karate what?" he murmurs to himself, as you begin to walk back to the compound determined to make sure Steve adds it to his list when he comes back from the latest mission.

* * *

It’s strange getting used to Bucky Barnes’ more frequent presence in your life, though you guys develop a good pattern over the spring months of who was going to take care of what when the other was on a mission. However, the sudden midnight additions of a flower bed (where you can actually practice using your powers) a large as the field and an accompanying shed made you realize that maybe he needed this little side project more than you sometimes, especially when you found him watering the flowerbed in the middle of a muggy June night after he had just returned from a mission.

“You’re overwatering them,” you state in a concern tone as Bucky --wearing sweatpants and a white tank top-- turns to look at you with bloodshot eyes, obviously not getting an ounce a sleep since he came back with Steve and Sam, “I watered them a day ago, it’s every two days.”

He pauses for a moment to look at the night sky, now hanging on limply to the watering hose as you stand there, unsure of what to do. While, you were aware that Bucky was no longer in the clutches of HYDRA due to the great work by Princess Shuri and the scientists of Wakanda, there were things that never left the human soul -- things that didn’t seem to let the Sergeant rest on most nights.   

“You haven’t been sleeping well?” you ask as a yawn escapes your mouth, though that doesn’t stop you from taking the hose from his metal hand. However, he pauses to look at you from the corner of his eye for a moment. You give him a tight-lipped smile as he drops the watering instrument in your waiting hand. You place it in its proper place, as you can hear Bucky’s raspy and haggard voice from behind you.    

“Not really...nightmares and such,” Bucky explains vaguely, while running his flesh hand through his matted hair in agitation. You walk over back to him and point to the tables not too far away.

“You don’t need to explain yourself,” you shake your head as he gives you an appreciative smile before changing the subject to something you have been practicing for a while, “Hey, wanna see something cool?”

You scrunch your nose a little in excitement as he nods, just needing something to take his mind off certain things. You motion him to sit down on the patio table set that he and Steve had set-up just a few weeks ago and that Natasha liked to use to when watching you do the gardening. The air was cool and still compared to the muggy New York you had been so used to. You take a deep breathe and point for him to look at the unwatered part of the flowers. He gives you a skeptical look for a moment as you grin and begin to move your hand back and forth slightly. You let out a light hum, the flowers begin sway back and forth as Bucky’s eyes widen.

“You’ve been practicing,” he says in awe, as you laugh the flowers jinggling lightly at the noise as fireflies slowly start up to light up the space, as if drawn by some magical force. You grin at the sight, completely unaware that something else had drawn Bucky’s attention. You turn to look at him, confused and a little flabbergasted at his sudden attention.

“Of course, I would. One of the reasons we have this space,” you whisper softly as he nods, “And just you wait, by July they’ll be dancing to The **Star Spangled Man with a Plan**!”         

Bucky lets out a hearty laugh at the idea you have for Steve’s birthday, as you soon follow with a slight chuckle. He grins and your heart seems to forget how to beat for moment, his demeanor a million times brighter than before. And in the end, you just end up watching the dancing flowers and fireflies until the sun comes up over the compound.     

* * *

You pretend you don’t know what Wanda is talking about when there is sudden abundance of flowers, all of kinds of varieties, and the smell of apricots in full bloom more often within the Avengers’ compound. Sunflowers in full bloom in the mornings with camellias and daisies peppered around the rooms depending on who was in them. More often than not, they could be found in Bucky’s room and hair depending on whether he was asleep or not, it got to the point where Sam and Tony really did agree he was the _Spring Soldier_ now. Even Steve smiled at the small set of forget-me-nots he found in his room, though it was mostly for what you were (not) doing for Bucky.

“How do I look?” you look from your book to see a nervous looking Bucky wearing a black shirt, a black and white motorcycle jacket, and dark washed jeans -- perfect for the double date that Sam had set him up on back in the city.

“Handsome,” is all you can say, as he gives you a shaky smile and Sam walks into the room with two sets of bouquets and watching the scene before him...well like a hawk,”Knock ‘em dead, Sarge.”     

“ _Sweet Titania_ , if you could please work your magic,” Sam voices in a serious and high toned British accent, as he comes from behind Bucky and places the flowers in front of your face. You laugh as Bucky shakes his head.

“Wow, Shakespeare. You must be serious tonight,” you exclaim before coughing and changing your voice to match his own with just as bad British tone, “Oh great bird man, your wish is my command.”

With a flick of your wrist, the flowers bloom to their peek as Bucky watches in awe one more before looking at the soft smile on your face. Your eyes flutter to meet his, and he swears he sees something melancholic in them before turning away in slight embarrassment. You stand up and both of them stop, Sam is grinning and Bucky still looks unsure.

“Have a great time, guys,” you say without any tone of emotion before grabbing them and pecking them both on a cheek. Bucky gives you one last look, like a kicked puppy, before you let go and Sam pushes him to the general area of the garage. You huff and drop back on the couch and stay there for a good while until it’s almost 11 pm and Wanda comes looking for you.

“Shouldn’t you tell him by now, sweetheart,” Wanda takes a seat beside you, worried like a mother would be. You look at her and lean on the her shoulder and yellow carnations begin to bloom around your wrists.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Wan,” is all you say as she pulls you closer for the rest of the night.

Nobody ever tells you that Bucky’s bouquet wilted the moment he handed it away to his date.

* * *

You, Wanda, and Sam are barely able to make it back for Steve’s birthday due to last minute mission. It’s only thanks to Natasha that you have a nice yellow and white summer dress to wear for the party taking place in your growing garden with tables and benches set up for close friends and family. Unlike most 4th of July celebrations, Steve enjoys celebrating his birthday in a small, intimate way no matter how much Tony might complain. You might frown at the questionable sight of Tony and Bruce near the barbeque grill, but you’re all grins at the birthday boy and another certain super soldier.

“Happy Birthday, Cap!” you grin while giving him a side hug. You hand him a small gift wrapped box, while trying ignore the obvious looks from a certain other super soldier you might have been avoiding.    

“Thanks,” Steve smiles lightly as he pats your on the back before letting go, “It’s good to see that everything went well.”

You smile and nod, but before you can say anything else Wanda is taking you away to talk with some familiar S.H.I.E.L.D agents and Natasha. She’s pushing you with a wink and you shake your head and laugh before yelling back at the two super soldiers.   

“I have another surprise for later,” you wink as Steve gets a questionable look on his face, while Bucky seems to be laughing behind his plastic cup.

However, the rest of the evening is playing a game a ping pong between you and Bucky because if you weren’t being dragged away to talk about the garden, like he was. However, you were extremely proud to talk about the work you had put into it and how some of the ingredients for the meals were directly part of your hard work, though Tony took all the credit for the initial idea. It isn’t until the sparklers are being turned on that you call over Steve to the flower bed, as the current music dies down.

“I know you’re used to women dancing this song,” you laugh as Steve lets out a nervous one at what you might have planned. You make a motion towards Vision to play [ the song ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i574Em3IrI) from your phone, and as the familiar tone begins to play as Steve starts to shake his head in disbelief, “But, have you ever had _flowers_ dance it before?”

You begin to move your hands back and forth as the various flowers begin to follow sad movement along with the song, the sparklers all around the flowerbed shining like diamonds as Wanda moves them around with her own powers, so that they are showering all the guests. Steve lets out a loud laugh as you sing along for a brief moment, you look up to see Bucky just staring at you with his bright gray eyes intense and shining like starlight.

As the song ends and Steve comes over to give you a hug, you don’t realize that your face is a bright red for the rest of the night.

* * *

Due to several incidents and extended missions, you hadn’t see Bucky again since the party and it was already mid-August, though the two of you still managed to keep the garden in stable shape. And here you were on a calm Sunday morning to pick up the rest of the fruits and vegetables before fall set in, and since Bucky wasn’t here, you let your powers places the items into the basket as your sat down in the shade.    

It wasn’t strange that you hadn’t seen him, it used to be like that once but since getting to know him, you missed him a lot. You and Wanda had talked about what you were feeling, but you were better at denying than confessing your true emotions -- it must have been something to do with your generation, as Tony like to say from time to time. You let out a sigh under the shady umbrella as the figs and apples dance in the air before falling into the baskets.

“I thought I said **no powers** , _doll_ ,” you shriek at the voice from behind you, as you jump slightly and turn to see a smiling Bucky Barnes. The fruits drop suddenly at your loss of concentration as you turn to frown at him.   

“ _What the hell_ , Buck?” you question hotly as he takes a seat next to you. He must just have returned from the mission since his hair is wet and the dark shirt still seems to be clinging to his upper body. You bite your lip slightly, as you glance up to see blue twilinking clearly catching you in the act of looking at him like he was some type of meal. Damn.

“We made a sacred pact,” he laughs as you catch the reference,”no powers on the bigger field.”

“Finally watched _Karate Kid_ , huh?” you question as he nods. Bucky turns to look at the garden, as you look down to fiddle with your hands and start making small flowers (bleeding hearts and comfreys) to pop within your palms. There is an obvious tension between the two of you, but you aren’t sure why -- at least you couldn’t think of a reason as to why Bucky would be sp tense.     

“Don’t watch the other movies, but maybe _Cobra Kai_ ,” you babble on as Bucky suddenly gets up to look at the large field that you two have been working on for the past couple of months together and while it wasn’t easy, you wouldn’t have had it any other way, especially not without him.

“We make a good pair,” he says looking at you, motioning for you to get up to stand next to him. You do so, and you can’t help but feel a little proud at all the things you had accomplished in terms of both gardening and your powers.  

“Yeah, for an ex-goat farmer and a city girl,” You let out a sarcastic snort of air at the thought of Bucky raising goats again, as the sun makes the flowers in your hand bloom a little more.

“‘m sure we could work great together, in a lot of other ways too,” he moves his body in front of yours. His flesh hand running softly over the petals now covering your hands, as the metal one slides cross your waist.  

“W-What are you trying to say?” you question in obvious confusion, vines wrapping around your forearms as if trying to protect you for whatever he might say next.

“I think you know,” he whispers softly, as he pulls you until your chest to chest with him. Blue eyes burning with something you hadn’t seen before “I think you’ve felt it for awhile now too.”

You feel a little bold for a moment, as you look at him straight in his eyes with your hands splayed across his shoulders,”I think you need to show what you’re talking you.”

You open the Pandora’s Box, as Bucky ducks his head to catch your lips with his own. His hold tightens just a bit, as your feet dangle slightly above the ground. The kiss is slow and sweet, but as you clutch the back of his head to bring him in closer as he nips on your bottom lip. You let out a small moan as your tongues play languishly together, showing each other what you having been trying to hide these past couple of months, and it isn’t until you feel the burn of your lungs needing air that you finally separate.   

“So…” he murmurs breathlessly, pulling back a little and smiles roguishly at the dazed look you on your face before you go back to looking at anything but him.

“So...are you asking me to go steady with you, Sergeant Barnes?” you giggle as you lose a little control of your powers and flowers begin to bloom in Bucky’s hair. You keep laughing, as you take a sunflower out of his hair and he lets out a breathless chuckle.

“Only if ya let me, flower girl,” he pulls you in a little closer, foreheads touching and noses rubbing together softly. You throw the sunflower over your shoulder and you grab his cheek and fall in love with the feel of the petals touching his light scruff.

“Oh definitely,” you kiss him softly, and noting that nothing could be better than being with him underneath the morning sun in the garden you grew together.   

**Author's Note:**

> catch me on the flip side: [writing tumblr](http://the-canary.tumblr.com/)


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